The 13-member advisory panel, led by University of Pennsylvania president Amy Gutmann, urged that the White House keep tabs on all government research, risk assessments, product licensing and funding of the new field. In particular, the panel also recommended that the Executive Office of the President “remain actively engaged” with amateur do-it-yourself bio-hackers who are among those pioneering the field of artificial life.

But the panel saw no need to create any new federal agencies or oversight bodies to deal specially with the new research.

President Obama had asked the commission to study the implications of synthetic biology after the May 20 announcement by bio-industrialist Craig Venter that his research team had inserted a laboratory-made genome into a bacterial cell. Scientists at the J. Craig Venter Institute called it the first self-replicating synthetic cell.

Synthetic Genomics Inc., a company founded by Venter, provided $30 million for the experiments and owns the intellectual-property rights to the cell-creation techniques. The company has a $600 million contract with Exxon Mobil to design algae that can capture carbon dioxide and make fuel. Six other companies — British Petroleum, Du Pont, Amyris Biotechnologies in Emeryville, Calif.; Gevo in Englewood, Colo; LS9 Inc. in San Francisco; and Joule Unlimited in Cambridge, Mass. — are also working on synthetic cells to produce renewable fuels.

The Venter Institute’s accomplishment made headlines worldwide and immediately triggered opposition from Friends of The Earth and several other environmental groups, who called for a global moratorium on such experiments.

The commission, while wary of the risks, took a more measured approach. “We considered an array of approaches to regulation — from allowing unfettered freedom with minimal oversight and another to prohibiting experiments until they can be ruled completely safe beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Gutmann. “We chose a middle course to maximize public benefits while also safeguarding against risks.”

In a letter to the commission and federal agencies — signed by 58 organizations in 22 countries — a coalition led by Friends of the Earth today renewed its call for a moratorium on synthetic biology experiments. “The Commission’s recommendations fall short of what is necessary to protect the environment, workers’ health, public health, and the public’s right to know,” the coalition said. “The time for precaution and the regulation of synthetic biology is now.”

Update: This post has been updated with reaction from a group opposed to synthetic biology.